The Primordial Record

Rowan and the seven warriors were three miles away from the ground, standing on the massive ball of flesh that was the Tribulation for the Dark One. Storm clouds surrounded them as lightning snaked all around them, Rowan knew that this was a sign that the Tribulation was coming to an end, whether for good or ill it was unknown, but the air was beginning to seethe with power and potential as the storm cloud grew, bringing with it massive gusts of wind and rain that tasted bitter, the end was coming, and as darkness spread all over the broken continent only the light of emitted from the lightning acted as a source of illumination.

Reaching here easily was due to the actions of the Mage who had created platforms of ice in the air, and unlike the rest of them who were watching the view from the air as they rested, preparing for the final push, the Mage had collapsed to a senseless dribble on the ground, uncaring that his body was almost sinking into the ball of flesh as he gasped for air. They had been lucky to reach this height before the storm picked up, else it would have been impossible with the growing wind that had grown so strong it was already picking up bodies and tossing them miles into the air.

"Good job Valgus," Rowan said to him, "You got us here just in time."

"Fuck you," he gasped, "You did not have to push me that hard, I feel like I'm dying."

"You still have the energy to talk, that means that I pushed you to your limits and not beyond it. Rest up; in two minutes, we attack. That is the stage for the real trial."

"Bastard," Valgus whispered and began doing breathing exercises, not even bothering to spit out the bitter rain entering his mouth. This close to the Dark One, Rowan had forbidden any sort of magic, as any foreign movement of Aether would alert their prey, he did not care if the growing storm would be able to disguise something like that. For mortals hunting a near-immortal being, every single advantage counted.

From hundreds of meters away from the ball of flesh, Rowan had used his strength to carry each of his companions by using series of massive jumps that tested the limits of his muscles and joints, and now he was decked in armor and except for his head that was uncovered, the rest of him was clad in metal, not that this would make much difference if he was hit by any technique of the Dark One, but even the slightest edge could determine the difference between victory and defeat.

The only magic that he allowed was on the mufflers covering their ears, and since Rowan had no helmet, it almost appeared as if he had two fluffy ears sticking out of his head, it completely shattered his image of a powerful warrior.

Rowan had tested that the flesh was stable enough to stand upon and was not dangerous by tossing a body upon it, discovering that they must avoid the areas spewing yellow acid, however, he noticed that the flesh underneath their feet was ridiculously tough, and it would be far too difficult for them to cut through, looking around he saw that the only way to access the inner portion of the flesh was through the holes secreting acid.

Giving sign language to the team, he saw them curse internally, and Rowan did not wait for them to make up their mind, he looked around for the spot that had the best space that could fit his body, timed the release of the acid which he discovered poured out more violently when the Dark One was screaming, and walking over, he waited for the right timing, looked back only once and smiled at his team and he jumped into the gash in the flesh where a moment before a large amount of acid that could have dissolved him to the bones had been spewed.

A moment before he fell into the darkness, he looked up at this growing storm and a sense of disquietness filled his heart that he could not put his fingers on, somehow this storm felt a part of the Tribulation, yet it felt as if it was being magnified beyond what it should have been.

Something was wrong.

$

Rowan closed his eyes, he could feel the edges of his armor sizzling as the corrosive cloud covered his body, but he was sliding down this passageway rather easily and that was all that mattered, judging by his hearing he should be able to make it through before the next wave of acid poured out of it, but if he was wrong, he would be dying inside this tight acidic vein.

He had jumped into the gash to give himself more momentum, coupled with his weight after wearing the heaviest armor among their group that almost weighed two tons, his timing was correct and he smashed through a membrane below with virtually no hindrance and then he no longer felt constricted and was in a free fall, all of his senses opened up, he saw what was below and all around him, and Rowan quickly made a decision.

The inside of the flesh ball was not large, a few hundred meters in circumference, and below him was a large pool of acid, however, there were massive fleshy pillars in their dozens all around this area, and Rowan arrested his fall by grabbing onto one of them, and sliding down for a few feet before he stopped falling.

His gauntleted hand pierced through the flesh with relative difficulty, but since the tips of his gauntlet were razor sharp, he could easily manage this level of exertion.

He heard panicked cries above him as his seven companions found their way through the fleshy passage. The fleshy membrane above delayed their fall, but he quickly saw that except for the Ranger, who would be able to recover quickly to grab a fleshy pillar, the rest were not going to make it.

Pushing against his pillar that was elastic under his touch, he sprang forward while throwing five short blades.

The blades extended in midair transforming into spears, each of them piercing into different pillars, some appeared below the feet of the falling warriors, whose agility was potent enough to stand upon it, while others slid in between the gaps of their armor, pinning them to the pillars closest to them, and for the last person, the Mage Valgus, Rowan caught him like a princess, while releasing another blade extending from his feet to hold them both to the pillar, watching the face of Valgus that had become pale with fear, Rowan smirked and the eyes of the Mage seeing his face that was not only calm but also carrying a sort of unknown excitement became filled with irritation as he pushed himself away from Rowan's hand, finding himself a perch on the fleshy pillar.

Giving them time to acclimate themselves to their current position, Rowan's gaze sought their target, and it was not that hard to find him, because he was close to the Mage, Rowan was able to help him brace for what was to come,

"ARRHHHRRHHHHH..."

The roar of the Earth god was like a sonic bomb exploding, and inside such an enclosed space, despite all the preparations, it turned out not to be enough, the power of the Dark One carried a weight that slammed them against the fleshy pillars as the acid pool below erupted like a volcano and underneath the deluge and the chaos, Rowan could still hear the screams of his companions, including the two that was falling from their pillar towards the acid pool below.

Even before they reached it, the torrents of the erupting acid had already turned them to steaming sludge.